Arch at Home Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 I know that we prefer textbooks for Science. I am interested in investigating college textbooks but don't know where to start. Do I need to go to a college bookstore or what? Sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 You can probably find what a school is using by looking at their bookstore online and any instructor or departmental syllabi. You can the buy the texts anywhere. The college bookstore is likely going to be the most expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 You could search this board for information; many people have recommended a variety of college texts for science in high school. Syllabi for classes are often published online; you can easily find out what texts are frequently used by instructors. To get the actual book, you should stay away from college bookstores: they carry the current edition and are ridiculously overpriced. abebooks.com is a great source for dirt cheap used books. Get older editions for under $5 instead of current ones for $150. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 You could search this board for information; many people have recommended a variety of college texts for science in high school. Syllabi for classes are often published online; you can easily find out what texts are frequently used by instructors. To get the actual book, you should stay away from college bookstores: they carry the current edition and are ridiculously overpriced. abebooks.com is a great source for dirt cheap used books. Get older editions for under $5 instead of current ones for $150. Yes, and I have purchased several at Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 You could search this board for information; many people have recommended a variety of college texts for science in high school. Syllabi for classes are often published online; you can easily find out what texts are frequently used by instructors. To get the actual book, you should stay away from college bookstores: they carry the current edition and are ridiculously overpriced. abebooks.com is a great source for dirt cheap used books. Get older editions for under $5 instead of current ones for $150. This is how I find our science texts. First, I will search for threads on the particular subject I am looking for - chemistry. Then I will see who is posting in the thread and what their recommendations are. I tend to follow the recommendations of a few posters due to their subject knowledge and shared expectations. If it is a subject that I think the student will do well in, I might check to see if the recommended text also shows up on the AP approved list for that subject. This is no guarantee that the text will be engaging, only that it meets a certain level of challenge. It is helpful to check the web for the availability of supplemental materials and schedules. If it all looks good, I will check Amazon, Abebooks, and a few other sites for the best deals. I aim for books that are clean, but sometimes price dictates that I take one with highlighting. Spines have to be solid. Usually, I will look for older editions and sometimes I prefer them. For example, my ds is using a newer edition of Hewitt's Conceptual Physics book at his ps. When he is doing homework, I am cruel and insist that he use our 9th edition. His newer book has been dumbed down. The chapters now follow the current fashion of dividing the material into one page soundbites and highlighting all important words. I make the boy work for his information because that is what he would have to do with a good college text. Which reminds me, I reject any text for science that is dumbed down in this fashion. Drives me nuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Half.com. I buy and sell textbooks there all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara H Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 If you have a campus bookstore nearby - and they let you near the textbooks - it can be nice to go there and browse. It can be helpful to see what the current version of the book is like and then go home and buy an older edition on Amazon for a lot less money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 If you have a campus bookstore nearby - and they let you near the textbooks - it can be nice to go there and browse. It can be helpful to see what the current version of the book is like and then go home and buy an older edition on Amazon for a lot less money. This is a good idea, but it can cause heart failure when you see what they charge. Also, be very careful that you do not end up with an Instructor's sample copy. These can be hard to sell back as some sites forbid trade in them. Ask me how I know. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch at Home Posted January 26, 2013 Author Share Posted January 26, 2013 This is helpful. Is there any subject which you might tend toward a newer as opposed an older textbook. One that comes to mind is Biology, at least that was a recommendation on another board. Sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 I bought gently used college textbooks from half-priced bookstore and from my local library book sales. I buy them for my own reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetzmama Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Tossing out another plug for abebooks.com. A friend who is back in school for a midlife career change found two textbooks for classes at the local goodwill one semester! Less than $5 each! They were only one printing behind what was currently being used by the school and none of that turned out to be major. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam L in Mid Tenn Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 I've gotten books at thrift stores and Goodwill. I would not go to those places looking for specific titles but it is so fun to find a great book there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 This is helpful. Is there any subject which you might tend toward a newer as opposed an older textbook. One that comes to mind is Biology, at least that was a recommendation on another board. Sarah I tend to aim for something from the last 5-8 years. There are several colleges in our area. I keep an eye out at library sales and big used bookstores. I tend to pick up editions for $5 or less and then trade up when I find a better or newer copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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